Miss Chase
by firebenderAnnabeth
Summary: Jamie Murphy never thought she'd like the Classics teacher Ms. Chase. She had heard from multiple sources that she was the strictest and toughest teacher at school. And Jamie didn't do strict. But as it turns out, there's more to Ms. Chase that Jamie didn't originally see.


**Okay so here's a little story that's been sitting in my Google Drive for a while. I personally don't think it's the best story I've ever made, and I don't really think it's up to par with the others. But here I am posting it anyway. It's in my typical one-shot format and it's in the first POV of a random character I made up named Jamie Murphy. Well, I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>The first thing I did after I signed up for classes for next year was telling my older sister what I was taking. She'd already went through high school and was in pre-med right now. She knew the pros and cons of every teacher that resided in John Kennedy High School. Of course, I probably should've asked her what to take prior choosing the classes, but the deed was already done.<p>

After I walked home, I slid off my shoes at the front door mat and flung my coat onto the coat hanger on the back of the door. My parents weren't home yet because they work until three, and it's only two-thirty right now. My orange cat, Tina came sauntering in from the kitchen to greet me. Rubbing her head and body around my ankles tickling me slightly. I bent down to pet her and scratch behind her ear for a few seconds.

Tina followed me into the kitchen where I got the phone and dialed my sisters number. Slightly bobbing my head to the song stuck in there I waited for her to pick up the phone. It took three rings before she finally picked up.

"What's up Jamie?" my sister's voice answered.

In the background I could hear her roommate playing her records again and singing along with the music.

"Allie's playing her forty-fives again?" I asked laughing slightly.

My sister sighed and let out a short laugh. "Yeah, it's Elton John this time. I like it better when she plays Billy Joel. But that's only on Fridays."

"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you what classes I signed up for."

I could practically see her smile and ears perk up in curiosity.

"Oh, please do tell."

"Well, I signed up for AP Lit," I began.

Almost immediately she cut me off. "Oh, apparently only Mr. Thomas teaches that, and he's a basket case."

I took that information. "Okay, noted. And then Honors Physics and AP Euro," I continued.

She cut me off again. "Okay Sully is the man for Physics and Brosnan is hilarious. Good choices."

"Damnit Kels, stop cutting me off."

"Okay, okay sorry." She didn't seem sorry.

"Then there's Spanish," I left a pause so Kelsey could respond.

"Which spanish class?"

"College 103," I responded automatically.

"Hmmm… you'll either have Bald Baldwin or DiMuch. You want DiMucci. Any other classes?"

"Yeah, two more. There's Pre-Calc."

"AB or BC?"

"BC, why?"

I heard her laugh a little. "You little overachiever you. BC lets see… you'll either have Curran or Miller. For your sake, I hope it's Miller. I've heard Curran is out his fuckin mind."

I made a humph sound. "Gee thanks for looking out for me."

The smirk was so evident on her face, I could imagine it crystal clear.

"It's my job. You're my little sister. What's the last class?"

"Uh… Classics," I said.

For a few seconds there was no response from the other end. "Classics? As in like Greek and Roman classics?" she whispered.

Kelsey's reaction worried me. "Yeah...why?"

There was a banging of wood. I'm willing to bet that she slammed her head on her desk.

"Jaims, you're going to deal with Chase for a whole fricken year."

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. "What's wrong with Chase?"

There was some sighing. "You poor innocent soul. She's the strictest teacher in the entire school. And I know you don't do strict."

She was right, I hate strictness. I often rebelled against it. "Is it a good class at least?" I wondered.

"Oh yeah, it's one of the best classes I ever took. But it was like torture actually getting through it."

"Great," I mumbled.

Kelsey laughed. "Don't worry kiddo. It's not too late to drop."

My stubbornness and pride got the best of me though. "I'm going to bite the bullet and deal with her head on."

Like she was right in front of me, I could imagine Kelsey shaking her head and rolling her light brown eyes at me in slight amusement.

"Whatever you say Jamie. Good luck though."

* * *

><p>After a nice summer of going to the beach, and holding a job at the local movie theater, the end of August finally made an appearance to end my summer break. I'd always secretly envied those up in the New England area (like New York, Connecticut etc) because they don't start school until after Labor Day. But, we also end school in May instead of June so there's that too.<p>

I was excited for my junior year. Yeah, it's the hardest and most stressful year in high school, but I'm always up for a challenge. Thinking back on Kelsey's warning, only made my resolve to endure Ms. Chase's class stronger. I even managed to get some friends with me in the class.

Taking out the schedule that the school so nicely sent to us, I looked over my classroom numbers once more just to make sure I'm remembering them right. My first period class was Classics (which I should've known with my luck). All my friends were chatting at our lockers about summer and which classes and teachers they have this year. When the first warning bell rang, I looked over at my friends Amalia and Katie. They're the suckers I managed to persuade to join me for Classics. Both of them heaved a sigh. I just gave them a small smile. Together we walked down stairs to her classroom.

As we walked together, there were already some students in there idly chatting away with each other. The walls had the occasional poster about something Greek or Roman but other than that, it was only the concrete walls. In the front corner was her desk with every paper in place. The laptop was still closed signaling that Ms. Chase hadn't entered the class yet. Katie, Amalia and I just took our seats and talked.

After a few minutes, the lights suddenly flicked on making everyone stop short in their conversations to blink and moan for a couple of seconds. I turned to the front to see a tall woman walk across the floor to the desk. She put a stack of papers down and went behind the desk. She didn't sit down in the chair, but hunched down with her elbows resting on the wood while she turned the computer on and logged in.

Ms. Chase had entered the room. I'd seen her around maybe once or twice, but I would've never picked her out of a crowd if someone asked me to do it. She had curly blonde hair that was tied up in a high and tight ponytail. Across her head was a black headband that was as simple as it got. She was wearing a dress that went to her mid-thigh and had a v-neck. It looked creme colored from a distance, but it was a weaved dress and it went well with her tan complexion. It wasn't a stretchy dress either. It showed off her very prominent feminine figure. Her eyes, which were a startling gray color, seemed very focused and hard as she was doing something on her computer.

She then walked over to the the whiteboard and picked up a blue Expo. The clacking of her tan heels echoed in the room. Ms. Chase wrote the date on the board (which was August eighteenth) and her name as well. When the second bell rang, she turned around and looked all of us individually in the eye.

"Good morning class," she started. Her voice didn't have a monotone sound, but it wasn't exactly happy either.

"I'm Ms. Chase and I'll be your teacher for this class for the entire year. As you all should know, this is a college level course, so I will treat it as such. If you fall asleep in my class, I will not provide any notes for you and you will have to get them from a peer. If you show up late to class, I will not back track what you missed and you will be given a detention from me. Eating and drinking is permitted but do not make a mess or I will keep you behind to clean it all up. If you miss a day, you will find the papers missed in this folder over here."

She pointed to a manila folder on a wooden desk. "If you miss a test, you will have two days to come find me and make it up. I will not hunt you down. If you do not show up, it will be counted as a zero. For homework, there is no partial credit. I do collect and grade them. If you miss at least two homeworks in a row, I will give you detention. If you continually fail quizzes and tests, I will call home and speak with your parents. There will be no side conversations in my class."

With that she looked towards the back left corner with a raised eyebrow.

"You two, what are your names?" she questioned.

Both boys looked up at her. The one on the left, James I think spoke first.

"James Keane," he said.

"Thomas Kelly," the other stated.

"Well Mr. Keane and Mr. Kelly. Please do share out loud to the class what was more important." Her gray eyes seemed to darken at her statement, and I could see the two boys become a little uncomfortable.

"Uh, we were talking about how...uh stupid these rules are," Thomas mumbled.

Ms. Chase raised her chin up a little bit and crossed her arms.

"Is that so? Well, the two of you are juniors correct?" she questioned.

Both boys whose faces was red from embarrassment nodded yes.

"Considering junior year is the most important year in your high school careers, I don't think you would want detention on your first day of school on your permanent records right?"

"No Ms. Chase," James whispered.

She looked at Thomas to say the same thing. "No ma'am."

"Exactly. So like I said, there will be no side conversations in my class. You are here to focus on Greek and Roman cultures and only that. If you wish to leave, I won't stop you. This is a college course after all. You're all almost adults here, I won't stop you from making your own choices. But you will fix your own mistakes as well."

I was surprised by Ms. Chase. She wasn't afraid to call out students who were assholes and had no shame in doing it. Treating us like adults was a huge plus for me. And she didn't seem to degrade us. It might be because she's only at most ten years older than all of us.

"All of you get up and stand in the front of the room," she ordered.

We all gathered up our stuff and waited while she got the attendance roster.

"I will be assigning seats and you will sit there for the rest of the year unless I see otherwise. There will be no switching."

Many kids let out groans and complains but she just glared at said kids; I was a part of that.

"Jamie Murphy," Ms. Chase called out. I walked up to the desk and sat down.

When she finished she scanned the room at all the students and narrowed her eyes at all of us.

"Well Mr. Keane, it seems you do not follow rules too well. Because you have broken one of my rules, you will be serving detention with me today after school."

Ms. Chase went to her desk and brought out a stack of light blue slips. She took out a pen and wrote down his name before walking over and slamming it on his desk. He let out a little yelp at the force.

"But Chase! I have practice right after school!" James claimed.

"Does it look like I care?" she asked pointing to her face. "And you will never call me Chase. It's disrespectful and you have no right to say my name like that. It will be Ms. Chase and only that," she said with venom. Her gray eyes were dark like a thunderstorm about to blow in.

While still looking straight into James' eyes, she yelled "Homework tonight is to list off as many gods as you can. Make sure to include minor ones, not just the Olympians. Write their parents, children they've had both mortal and immortal, what they're the god of and their symbols. Do not use the internet because I will know if you did and it will result in consequences."

With that Ms. Chase walked back to her desk with her head held high and sat down in the chair and took out papers. "Get to work now," she said while looking down. I looked up at the clock to see we only had five minutes left. There was no point in starting.

Like she had a radar, Ms. Chase looked at me with those stone eyes. I swear she's like Medusa, she could petrify you with one glance.

"Ms. Murphy I instructed you to start your homework. Why is there nothing on your desk?"

I scrunched my eyebrows and gave her a look. "Because there's no point. The bell's going to ring in like a minute."

Without breaking her glance she didn't say anything for a second.

"Well, when I gave my instructions, there was still seven minutes left. That's plenty of time to start. But instead you didn't listen and just sat idly in your seat doing nothing. And I cannot accept that. I will have to give you detention."

"What?! That's absurd!" I exclaimed.

"Next time listen to my directions and you could avoid that fate. Consider this a lesson learned," she said with ice. She glared at me and I wanted to cower for a second. Ms. Chase wrote me a blue slip and gave it to me.

I grabbed it out of her hands. If she could give me a nastier look, she did. Finally the bell rang and I was on my way to AP Euro and away from the monster named Ms. Chase.

* * *

><p>"I swear to god, underneath her there's just a robot," I exclaimed at the lunch table.<p>

All my friends were just giving me disbelieving looks. But they didn't understand, they didn't have Ms. Chase. Well, actually, my friend Maria had her for Calculus. Yeah, she taught math too.

"That may be a tad bit of an exaggeration," Taryn said.

"No, I think she's right. She cold as ice," Katie said vouching for me. "The homework she gave us is pretty hard. And we can't even look stuff up."

"Detention on the first day! How cruel can someone get?"

"Didn't your sister warn you that she's a bitch?" Maria questioned.

I glared at her, and she put her hands up in mock surrender.

"Yeah, but I thought she was just exaggerating, which she tends to do. But nope, Chase is actually a bitch. I hope that she doesn't have children."

The topic dropped after that.

* * *

><p>As soon as the bell rang signalling the end of the day, I packed up all my books and made my way back to Ms. Chase's room. She was on the phone with someone and had her back turned to the windows. I felt a little awkward and didn't say anything.<p>

"Look, I gotta go now. Love you too," she said. With that she hung up the phone and put it back in her purse. She turned around and looked at me.

"Sit down Ms. Murphy," she instructed.

Other students trickled in and sat down in desks scattered across the room. Ms. Chase looked at the clock and sat down at her desk. There was total silence. Then, some guy decided to try and play twenty questions with her.

"Ms. Chase?" I looked back to see it was some senior who had a band tshirt on.

She looked up at him and nodded to tell him to proceed.

"Are you married?"

"No," her answer came immediately.

"Anyone special in your life? Hmmm?"

Her eyes seemed to harden. "No. Now if you ask any more stupid questions, I will give you another detention for tomorrow. Do your Calculus homework."

Something in her tone of voice made me think otherwise. I wanted to know why she was lying but I didn't want to risk another detention. So I just sat quietly for forty minutes.

Ms. Chase never seemed to lighten up. I've never seen her smile before, and there was no playful banter in the class. All we did was take notes, read and analyze some greek myths, and do homework if there was time left. I'd end up in detention with her almost every week for stupid little things. It was mostly just to peeve her though, and she knew it.

As I walked in, I slammed the blue slip on her desk giving her a sweet smile before sitting in my regular detention desk. Her eyes were what I could use to see what she was thinking sometimes. A lot of the times though, she had this unreadable face. But she could read me like a book.

"Ms. Murphy, is there a reason why you look to have detention with me?" she asked with curiosity. Today it was only me; well it's usually just me.

I just shrugged my shoulders. "Rebellion I guess? I dunno."

Ms. Chase looked me up and down with her gray eyes as if she was remembering something. She took a deep breath in and sighed. "Interesting." She then looked back at the stack of papers and started grading essays and math tests.

I looked at Ms. Chase closely. In her curly hair, there were some gray hairs starting to show. She's only like thirty, but they were there. Maybe she was just super stressed about things. Another thing, when she wore sleeveless dresses, there were little white lines on her arms, like she got into fights a lot. One scar on her left shoulder scarred over pink and thick. No one dared to ask her where she got them from. She always wore this necklace that had clay beads with different designs on each. It almost seemed childish to wear, but she did anyway.

All these different questions ran through my mind about Ms. Chase. She was so aloof about herself that no one really knows anything about her. Nothing. Nada.

"Where're you from?" I asked impulsively. I slapped my hand across my mouth and cursed myself silently.

"Pardon?" She put her glasses on her head.

"Uh… I asked where're you from?"

Ms. Chase's eyebrows scrunched together. "Why do you ask?"

"Curious."

"I'm from many different places," she said vaguely.

Of course she'd answer like that. It's so like her to say that.

"What places?" I asked trying to get information out.

For a few seconds she seemed to list out pros and cons of telling me. Like I said before, she can read me like a book.

"You're a good kid Jamie. And you remind me of someone I knew. But even I can tell you're a loud mouth. I don't think I'm going to tell you any information."

I wanted to be offended, but she was right and I knew that. So I just nodded my head and just rested my head on the desk for the remaining minutes. When the bell rang, I got my stuff together.

"See you tomorrow Jamie," Ms. Chase said quietly.

I turned to see her. There still was no smile on her face, but at that moment I knew that she wasn't totally made of ice.

* * *

><p>Since fall was upon Virginia, the temperatures seemed to be dropping just a tad. It's still humid and warm all year, but it has it's days of cold. The leaves were starting to change from vibrant greens to warm reds, oranges and browns. They were also starting to litter the ground and crunch under my feet every time I walk outside.<p>

I tend to do that a lot. Just go for a stroll into town and through the park. People watching is one of my favorite things to do. When Kelsey was still here, we'd watch people and make up background stories for them and laugh. There were people running with their Ipods or Iphones plugged in playing music of their choice. Some ran with dogs as their companions. Many chose to just walk with their dogs. Big dogs would pull the owner towards people who got too close, small dogs would bark like they were the biggest and toughest dogs in the world. Owners would just apologize and keep going.

Kids in my school would skateboard or bike with their friends on the bumpy sidewalks and do dangerous tricks that would make elders and adults roll their eyes in a annoyed manner. Some would be on the grass doing mini soccer or football games. That was entertaining. Boys tackling each other to the ground and shouting horrible threats to each other.

Families would be just taking a stroll and observing the beauty that is fall. They would laugh and go to the ice cream truck where the parents would try to convince their kids it was too cold to eat ice cream. The kids wouldn't care and they'd end up eating their ice creams anyway. Then they'd keep going on their merry way.

Children would be at the playground running around with their youthful energy from the swing sets to the seesaw then to the monkey bars only to make the cycle again. There were the ones who just like to hang upside down on the lower and high bar until all the blood rushed to their faces. They'd jump off, rest for a minute only to do it again. Others ran up the rockwall and tried to chase and push each other away. Some tried to climb up the slides again and seem like the coolest kid in town. Halfway up, they'd fall to their knees and slowly descend back down and try again and again. Parents were sitting on the bench talking to each other while keeping a close eye on their kids.

The park was one of my favorite places. I walked over to where a lawn was and sat on a bench. As my eyes scanned the horizon, I saw three people doing something I've never seen before. They all seemed to be fencing. Well, it looked like a mother and her children. The mother was teaching the children to fence properly and the children were fighting one another.

They were all blonde and had curly hair. And they were all girls. Interested, I got up

and walked near by to get a better look. The two children, who seemed to be identical twins had concentrated looks on their little faces. Thrusting the fencing swords at each other, they seemed to be very good at attacking and blocking the throws. They looked like someone I know, but I couldn't place my finger on it. The mother yelled stop at them and walked between the two girls to give them tips. She got behind one and guided her through a motion of a move of the sword. Then she went to the other and did the same thing. Both girls seemed to nod their heads in understanding. After she walked out from between them, the two girls resumed. They couldn't have been older than seven years old.

As I moved my concentration to the mother I saw that she had a smile on her face. It wasn't one that showed teeth, but it was a proud smile of a mother. She was wearing black and red flannel shirt with a blue cami underneath with black leggings and combat boots. Her curly hair was down to her shoulders with a headband holding back bangs.

Every once in a while she'd tell tips to the girls and point her finger to where the sword should be arching to and where it should hit. The girls seemed to absorb the information their mother told them. It was cool to watch the girls fight because they seemed professional at doing it. Once they made a mistake, their mother would tell them what it was, they'd fix it and never make it again.

They'd dodge and roll around on the ground trying to sneak up from behind each other. At one point they started to wrestle on the ground before their mother intervened and brought the two apart. She didn't exactly yell at them, but she reprimanded them. Both girls said sorry and continued on with their fight.

After a vigorous fight, the mother sent the girls to the food stand nearby to buy some food and water for themselves. Both girls looked happy and took the money and ran. The mother took out her headband and grabbed all of her hair braiding it. Then she started to wrap it in a circular motion before putting it up in a bun. By the time she was done, the girls ran back with food and water and gave the change back to their mother.

In her backpack, the mother pulled out a blanket and spread it out on the grass before sitting down on it. All three of the blonde girls started to eat their lunch. The girls asked her to do something and the mother put her food down. She started to make big hand motions and silly faces to make her daughters laugh. She was obviously telling a story. And I wish I was in hearing distance to listen in without being super weird. The mother got in the girls faces making them scream with delight and then giggle loudly.

After they finished eating, both girls asked another thing from their mother. She playfully rolled her eyes and nodded yes at the request. One of her daughters sat in her lap and she started to brush the girls curls with her fingers. She then parted the girls hair equally and started to plait her hair into a braid on one side. She did the same to the other. The mother searched in her bag and pulled out some bobby pins and placed them between her lips. She placed one braid up across her daughters head, and took some bobby pins and secured it nicely before taking the other and doing the same thing. When she was done, the girl touched it and hugged her mother tightly making the mother laugh and smile. The other daughter bounced up and down in excitement and sat where her twin previously did. The girl told her mother what she wanted and she nodded okay. The mother brushed her other daughters curly hair with her fingers. She took her hand and ran it from the top of her head to grab the hair she needed. The mother clustered it together and started to plait it into a braid. After she simply took a hair tie out and finished it off before kissing her on the cheek. The girl giggled and wiped her cheek.

The interaction between the mother and daughters made me smile and feel warm and happy inside. Me and Kelsey were always close to our mother so I could relate. The twin girls ran off the blanket and picked up their swords and challenged their mother. She fake gasped and smiled while taking her own out. It was bigger than her girls and they got ready in fighting stance.

Both girls screamed "CHARGE!" and attacked their mother who seemed to be easily blocking their moves. Flashes of silver were in the air and there was a slight metal clanging from the swords colliding with each other. The mother only stayed on the defensive while her girls were tirelessly attacking her. After about five minutes, the girls started to weaken out and the fight was drawing to a close. Both girls looked at each other and then tackled their mother to the ground laughing. The mother rolled over so she was on top of the girls and started to tickle them. They squealed in delight and begged for mercy. After about a minute the mother got up and let the girls regain the breath again.

The mother leaned back on her elbows just observing her girls with happiness. She happened to turn her head towards me, and that's when I got the first full look at the woman. And what I saw startled me.

It was Ms. Chase.

* * *

><p>I don't know what compelled me, but after I saw her face I just started to walk over to where she was. As I walked closer recognition dawned across her face and her eyes widened. She obviously didn't want to be seen by me. Ms. Chase got up and started to pack everything back into her backpack. By the time I was there, she was already done.<p>

I stuck my hands in my pockets. "Hey Ms. Chase."

She turned towards me and it turned super awkward. "Uh, hello Jamie."

Ms. Chase's daughters were playing on their own without notice of the awkward encounter.

"How long have you been watching?" she asked in a hushed tone.

I didn't want to tell her I've been observing for like an hour because that'd make me seem like a creeper. But I knew I couldn't lie to her either.

"For a while," I answered truthfully looking at my worn out sneakers.

"Mmhmm," she hummed. "Why?"

Looking up at her, I expected her to be angry that I was watching in on her personal life; even if it wasn't intentional. Instead she looked almost, _nervous_. Like someone knowing about anything in her life scared her.

"I just thought it was cool that you taught your daughters to fence. You don't really see that too often in the park."

I looked over to the two girls who were starting to make their way to their mother.

"They are your daughters right?"

Ms. Chase just nodded yes.

"Mommy, who's this?" the twin with the milkmaid braid asked.

Both girls clung to their mothers legs and she gave them a small smile.

"One of my students, Jamie," she introduced.

The girl looked bashful and hid behind her mother.

"That's Indira," Ms. Chase told me. She turned to her left and the girl with her hair down was in the same position as Indira.

"And the other's Sandra."

Indira and Sandra were like carbon copies of Ms. Chase. I'd imagine that's what she looked like at that age. They both had gray eyes and the curly blonde hair. They were a little darker than Ms. Chase, but not by much. Both had cute button noses and freckles adorned their faces.

"They're beautiful Ms. Chase. How old are they?" I asked smiling.

"They're six."

Ms. Chase looked at her daughters and then to me.

"We must leave, but I'll see you Monday Jamie." With that Ms. Chase took her things and grabbed each of her daughters hands and walked away.

I had seen a whole new side to Ms. Chase.

* * *

><p>"Ms. Chase is a freaking single mother?!" Kelsey exclaimed over the phone.<p>

"Yup. I saw her in the park today with her daughters," I informed.

There was silence for a second, minus Allie's records playing faintly in the background.

"I would've never guessed. Do you know how many times I cursed her and hoped that she had no children? It was a lot. And what you're saying is that she's actually not a stone cold bitch twenty four seven?"

"Basically Kels."

I could hear her faintly scratching her head as if this news was like trying to understand rocket science.

"How old are they again?"

"Six."

"Damn, that means she just had them right before I had her for a teacher."

I laughed at my sister. "I couldn't believe it when I saw her. She almost looked nervous Kels. _Nervous!_"

"Oh man, I gotta call Sarah and tell her. She's gonna laugh so hard. I'll talk to you later Jaims."

"Okay bye." With that I hung up and just lied in my bed and stared at the ceiling until I fell asleep.

* * *

><p>That Monday, when I walked into class, everyone was buzzing about something. It was kind of unusual considering it is seven o'clock in the morning and we all just want to get some extra shut eye before class.<p>

"What do you think they're talking about?" Amalia asked.

Me and Katie just shrugged our shoulders. As we took seats (our non-assigned ones, we wait until Ms. Chase comes in to move to our assigned ones), and tried to hone in on a conversation to our left.

"Man, no wonder she's bitter. A single mother of twins?" a girl whispered.

"I know right? A walk out father, who would've thought," and then she sighed like she almost pitied her.

I knew right then that the two girls were talking about Ms. Chase. And it was because of my loud mouth. On Saturday, as soon as Kelsey hung up, I went to call my other friends and tell them the discovery I made. No doubt, they went and told others so now everyone seems to know a part of Ms. Chase's life.

When the lights flicked on, Ms. Chase was looking down at her phone. Today, it was a warmer day so she was wearing a red dress with a sweetheart neckline held up by spaghetti straps. The border of the neckline was white with red polka dots. The red made her look even tanner than usual and her red heels that strapped her ankles made her look really nice. Her hair was up in a milkmaid braid, which led me to think that Indira or Sandra convinced her to wear it like that.

As she did every morning, Ms. Chase turned on her computer and logged in, went to the white board and wrote the lesson and the date before turning around on us. Her eyebrows scrunched together when she noticed we all weren't in our assigned seats, and just staring at her like she had another head.

She crossed her arms and rested her weight to her right leg.

"What are you guys staring at? Go to your seats," she commanded.

Everyone seemed to break out of the trance and scrambled to their seats so they wouldn't get in trouble. As I sat down and look forward, I saw Ms. Chase looking at me. She seemed to be thinking about something and she had suspicions.

Ms. Chase is an extremely intelligent woman. When we started to talk about the Trojan War, she was able to go into great detail of every part, like she talked to the soldiers first hand about it and was relaying the information to us. She also loved making battle strategies. If the Trojans did this instead of that then they could've won, stuff like that. The stories she told were fascinating and intriguing.

The day after every essay (we have ten in total the whole year), she spends the entire period telling a story about the adventures of Patrick and Aquila. And if the bell cuts short, she lets us come after school to finish the story. So far we've only had one essay so she's only told us one story. It was the first one of what she calls "a series". Kelsey told me how awesome they are and how she recounts them to her friends all the time. The first was when Zeus' master bolt was stolen and how Patrick and Aquila had to go on a quest to find it. Every word she said had all of the students wanting to know more.

Anyway, after she put the expo marker down she turned to us.

"Take out your homework and textbook and turn to page one twenty five and complete the questions."

As everyone shuffled through their backpacks to take out their stuff, I looked up to see Ms. Chase trying to figure out the strange behavior that was occurring in her class. She started walking up and down the aisles collecting the homework and watching over the students complete the do now she assigned.

One kid in the class, Carson raised his hand in the air. Immediately I knew it was going to go downhill. Carson was a brave kid who always had the balls to ask questions no one else in the class wanted to.

"Yes Carson?"

"Is it true you have kids?" he asked with curiosity written on his face.

Ms. Chase came to a halt and seemed to be frozen in place. She slowly turned around to face everyone. Panic was pretty evident in her gray eyes and she was trying to calm herself down in front of everyone. She slowly scanned the room looking at everyone closely. The realization that everyone practically knew dawned on her face and she sighed.

"Yes. I do have kids," she whispered. Ms. Chase looked back up at Carson. "Why do you ask?"

Carson just shrugged his shoulders. "Rumors were going around, so I wanted to hear the truth from the source."

Ms. Chase seemed lost in thought for a second. Then she looked up at me, and I could see she figured out the source of the rumors. Ms. Chase went over to her desk and took out a post-it and scribbled something on it with a pen. She then walked over to my desk and stuck it on my textbook.

_Stay after class. I need to talk to you._

I was a little nervous. Ms. Chase could get angry very easily I've noticed. She's kicked kids out plenty of times during the past three months, and given out many, many detentions. As the period ticked on, I didn't want it to end because ending meant having a talk with Ms. Chase. All we learned about was the myth of Perseus and Medusa. The name Perseus seemed to have a personal connection with Ms. Chase. Before she'd say the name, she'd hesitate a little bit and continue on.

As the bell rang everyone started to pack up their things. Katie and Amalia were waiting for me but I told them to go on without me. When I put my backpack on I slowly walked to Ms. Chase's desk. We were the only two left. I knew she had a free period now so no one would interrupt our chat.

"What's up Ms. Chase?" I quietly asked.

She had her fingers laced across her lap and she was looking down at them like they were the most interesting things in the world. She didn't seem angry.

"You know, there's a reason I keep my personal life very secretive," she started.

When she looked up her gray eyes seemed sad and broken. Like she's seen things no one should ever see. I immediately felt guilty.

"I know, and I'm sorry Ms. Chase," I apologized. But even to me it didn't seem very sincere which made me feel even worse.

There were no words spoken between us for a few moments. Then she let out a deep sigh.

"What's been said about me? I know rumors quickly get warped."

I just stared at her in the eyes. I really, really didn't want to tell her the things that've been thrown around the school; but she seemed to want to confront it head on.

"People thing it was because of a one night stand. And they feel bad for you."

She raised a blonde eyebrow. "Like pity?" she asked.

I thought about it for a second before nodding. Ms. Chase no longer seemed sad, but rolled her eyes in annoyed way and huffed. It wasn't exactly anger, but it was on it's way there.

"If there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's pity," she huffed out. "Gods know I've had enough of it in my life," she whispered after. It was so quiet I almost didn't hear it.

"Well, there's usually truth embedded in a rumor," I said with extreme hesitation.

"No you're right," she said looking back at me.

"But it wasn't a one night stand. The father of Indira and Sandra was my long time boyfriend Percy. We were best friends since we were twelve. On his sixteenth birthday we finally started to go out. He entered the Marines as soon as he could. So it was kind of hard to keep in touch, but we stuck it out and stayed strong. He'd visit me when he could. At that point I lived in New York, and he went to West Point to train before hand. He'd go on his rounds for a few months and come back for a week or two. When we were twenty four, he dropped the news that he wouldn't be back for a while. He said a year tops, and I believed him. After he left, I found out I was pregnant with the girls, but every way of communication was cut off from him which I found weird. Soon enough, a year past and then two and now it's been six years since he's left and I don't have any idea if he's alive or not."

Ms. Chase had the far out look in her eyes after saying that. It was almost like she'd come to expect it.

"I would apologize, but that's not what you're looking for," I said.

She gave me a small, tight smile.

"I like you Jamie. You remind me of Percy and of me. But the whole point of this chat is to tell you that I know you told your friends about my family therefore the rumors to be spread. It was wrong of you to do that, but I'm not going to punish you. Just, learn from your mistakes Jamie and you'll get far in life."

With that, Ms. Chase looked at the clock and wrote me a pass to AP Euro. She handed the red pass to me and walked over to open the door for me.

"Thank you Ms. Chase."

All she did was nod in response.

* * *

><p>I'd like to say my relationship with Ms. Chase got better after that heart to heart we had a few weeks ago. December was upon us and the formal dance was coming up soon. And we were short of teacher chaperons. Since the news of her children got leaked, she just accepted the fact that her part of her life was public. There were pictures of Indira and Sandra on her desk now making it a little more friendly.<p>

She still never smiled and was still all business in class. The only time she really let loose was when it story day after an essay. Those were my favorite days because I loved listening to the adventures of Aquila and Patrick and their friends. It made me wonder if those stories held any truth. Aquila seemed a little like Ms. Chase and Patrick her boyfriends. But I loved her character; she was a badass.

Sometimes during my free period, I'd come visit her just to talk about upcoming assignments or her daughters. She loved talking about them.

I was on my way to her class right now because I had a free and I realized I enjoyed her company and I think she enjoyed mine too. As I walked I knocked on the door and entered. Ms. Chase was drinking water and turned her chair to face me. Once she swallowed she greeted me.

"Hey Jamie. What's up?"

I walked up to a desk near her desk and dropped my backpack on the floor before jumping up on the desktop to sit on.

"Nothing, just wanted to hang out," I said shrugging.

"Oh, okay."

"So, the winter formal is coming up and we need more teacher chaperons," I started.

Ms. Chase narrowed her eyes at me.

"What are you trying to say?"

"That you should come and chaperon," I said right to the point.

Ms. Chase started to nervously tug on her curls like she did when she wasn't sure of something. It's a little quirk I picked up on while talking, and all those times spent in detention with her.

"I don't know. I'm not really into these things and I don't have a babysitter for the girls-" she rambled.

I held up my hand to signal that she should stop.

"Don't worry. I have a sister who can babysit the girls. She's home for the week anyway and trust me it'll be fun."

"A sister?" she questioned.

"Yeah, you actually had her your first year teaching here. Kelsey," I stated.

Ms. Chase had her thinking face on trying to remember her.

"Kelsey Murphy, yes I remember her. She was just like you, always in detention with me. A smart ass she was."

I laughed at her comment. "That sounds like her."

Her glossed lips were pursed up. "I still don't know…"

"You don't even have to bring a date. It can just be you," I tried to persuade.

"Do I have to dress up?"

"Yeah, it's black tie so everyone's going to be dressed nicely," I informed.

With a sigh she nodded her head yes. "Okay, I'll go. Just make sure to tell Kelsey to take good care of my girls."

Ms. Chase took out a post-it note and wrote down her address and gave it to me.

"Not a word Ms. Murphy about this," she warned. It was on the border of serious and a little joking too.

"I swear on the River Styx," I said as a joke.

Ms. Chase's eyes widened in shock and I heard the faint rumble of thunder.

"Don't ever do that again Jamie," she warned.

It freaked me out a little how serious she sounded. I said it as a joke because we learned today that those promises were the most serious oaths you could take in the Greek World. Ms. Chase seemed like she firmly believe it to be true.

"Sorry. Anyway, I gotta go to the library and do some Physics homework. Remember, Friday at eight. Kelsey will be there at seven thirty latest."

With that I picked up my stuff and walked out.

* * *

><p>"You told her what?" Kelsey exclaimed while lounging on the couch.<p>

I had just broke the news that she'd be babysitting Ms. Chase's girls for the night while she chaperoned the formal as per request from me. Kelsey flopped onto her stomach resting her head in her hands. Her light brown eyes were glaring at me.

"I can't believe you just told her I'd willingly babysit her twins for her. Are you crazy?"

I just shrugged my shoulders at her.

"The deed is already done. Plus I think this will do her some good. I don't think she's had fun since her kids were born. She's so serious all the freaking time, I just wanted her to have fun for once."

Kelsey seemed to soften up a little. She was staring off into space thinking about it.

"I guess I'll do it. I'm curious to see what they look like anyway. I can't just go by your descriptions of the girls. What're their names again? Isabel and Sally?"

"Indira and Sandra," I corrected.

"Hmph, interesting names. Any idea why those?"

"I think she mentioned once they're named after female figures. I think Sandra is after Sandra Day-O'Connor. Indira as in Indira Gandhi? I forget exactly."

Kelsey just nodded her head and turned back to the television. "I better be getting paid for this," she murmured under her breath while channel surfing.

I just rolled my eyes and laughed before heading up to my room to finish homework for the night.

* * *

><p>Personally, I didn't have a date for formal. I was part of our Senate so I was going to be running around all night making sure everything runs smoothly. At six I started to get ready for the dance. I showered an hour before so I was letting my hair dry naturally. I went into my closet and grabbed the dress I bought weeks prior and unwrapped it from the plastic it's been shielded in.<p>

The dress was a long navy blue that went over my right shoulder. The one strap had sequins on it making it a little more nice. The fabric was stretchy and it was easy to zip up by myself; it was one less problem I had to worry about. I gently laid the dress out on my bed and sat at my vanity and took out all my makeup and hair products that I was going to lather myself in for tonight.

After applying the makeup where needed (with the occasional tip from Kelsey who stopped in once in a while), I plaited my hair into an intricate bun that I learned to do online somewhere and put on a gold headband for extra measure.

By the time that was done and over with, I put the dress on and looked at my digital clock which read seven. I strapped on my heels and banged on Kelsey's wood door.

"C'mon Kels it's seven! Let's go!" I yelled.

There was a muffled "Calm yourself before you blow a gasket. Jeez."

I rolled my eyes and walked downstairs. My parents gushed at how beautiful I looked and I just politely said thank you and no pictures. I grabbed the keys to the car and waited for Kelsey to make her appearance. A few minutes later she came sauntering down the stairs in a Stanford sweatshirt and ripped jeans with converse.

"Let's roll," was all she said.

I was driving and picking her up from Ms. Chase's house. It was only a fifteen minute ride from ours which surprised me. I didn't think she lived in Richmond. I pulled up at the curb in front of her simple house.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked Kelsey.

"Nah I'm good. See you at ten," with that she walked out of the car and up to the door.

I watched for a couple of seconds and waited for the door to open. When it did, I pulled away and went to the school.

Walking into the gym, there were already people there chatting around tables and the snack area. Teachers already showed up and the DJ was starting to play music. I was making my way around, talking to people and teachers and making sure everything was in tip-top shape.

The party started to swing at eight and there were tons of kids swarmed in the gym. I was feeling hot and sweaty from all the other bodies in the room. By now, I was just hanging out with my friends chatting away about books and movies. It seemed that the formal was a big hit and everything was going great. Everyone looked great and the teachers seemed to be having a good time too.

Across the gym, I saw Ms. Chase heading over to the drinks. And she looked amazing. She was wearing a dark gray dress that flowed to the ground. It was a v-neck in the front and back and the sleeves were made sheer fabric and had embellished detail of beads on the bodice. Her hair was styled like in the 1930's fingerwaves, and she somehow rocked it. She wore more makeup than usual and was chatting with teachers on her way over.

She seemed a little awkward, but otherwise seemed to be enjoying herself. I smiled looking at her. I was glad I was able to convince her to come tonight. It looked like she really needed it.

I said I'd catch up with my friends later and started to make my way to Ms. Chase. She was standing near the punch bowl casually taking sips of her drink and watching the students have a good time.

"Are you glad you came?" I asked standing next to her.

She seemed startled for a second before realizing it was me. Then she gave a tiny smile.

"Yes. The last time I went to one of these was my boyfriend's senior prom."

I gave a little laugh. "So it's been a while."

"Yeah, it's been a long while." She took another sip of her punch. "You know, the girls were excited to have a babysitter. They wanted me to get out for once."

I smiled at Ms. Chase. "Well at least they took it good and weren't screaming for you to come back."

She gave a single laugh. "I guess they get their independence from me. So I can't really say anything."

Ms. Chase looked down at me. "Kelsey admitted she wasn't too keen on using her Friday night watching over them. At least she was honest."

"Yeah, it took a little convincing. But she loves children, so it didn't take too long to get her to agree."

"That's good. She seemed to like the girls off the bat. Maybe I'll hire her more often," Ms. Chase joked.

"As much as I'd like her to, she's off at Stanford most of the year, so it would be highly inconvenient for her. But I could do it," I offered.

"Oh no. No it's okay. I like staying home with them anyway. I wasn't serious," she defended.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, but thank you Jamie. Go off and enjoy the night."

I gave her a smile and started to walk away. I turned around and said "Thank _you_, Ms. Chase."

* * *

><p>I realized in January, I still had no idea what Ms. Chase's first name was. She didn't have any social media so I couldn't find out from there. Teachers never really said anything about her, and even the website just said "Ms. Chase". It was a stupid curiosity, but I wanted to know her first name. But I also didn't just want to flat out ask her. That'd be a little bit weird.<p>

More stories of Aquila and Patrick were told, and they were just getting even more interesting. We were on the fifth one, and everyone was dying to know when the next essay was going to be so we could hear how the "Battle of Manhattan" was going to go down. We were itching to hear it.

So when I was sitting on the desk during free I asked. "When's the next essay?"

Her gray eyes held a smirk look to them. "Why do you ask? Feeling a little antsy for the fifth story?"

I just nodded my head.

"Next Tuesday."

"What? That's so far away!" I complained. She just shrugged her shoulders in response.

Questions were always running through my head about the mystery that is Ms. Chase.

"Do you have any pictures of Percy?" I asked suddenly.

Ms. Chase looked up from grading math tests and just stared at me.

"Why?" she said slowly.

"I've always wondered what he looked like. Curiosity kills the cat."

"That it does." She sighed and went into her desk and went searching through a cabinet.

She shuffled through papers and folders before closing it and bringing out a single picture. She handed it to me.

It was old, and from those old Polaroid cameras. The picture was a little faded and dusty. I wiped the dust off on my pants and held it carefully in my hands. Inside the picture it was of a much younger Ms. Chase who was being hugged by a guy a few inches taller than her. Both were both smiling and seemed to be laughing too. The guy had black hair that was windswept and green eyes that seemed so happy and mirthful. He had an olive color complexion and had the body built for a swimmer.

I looked up to see Ms. Chase leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed. I handed the picture back to her.

"That was taken when we were sixteen. We both met at a camp which is where the picture was taken."

"I honestly didn't think he'd look like that," I said laughing lightly.

"What'd you expect? Blonde like me? Perhaps blue eyes?"

I thought for a little while. "No...I never really had a clear picture in mind, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't that. Indira and Sandra look nothing like him."

"Maybe, but they get his goofy personality. Both of them."

"That day in the park, I thought you were acting pretty goofy with them. Are you sure you don't have a say in where it came from?" I asked smiling.

Ms. Chase just rolled her eyes playfully. "He rubbed off on me. His was genuine and written into his character. Mine was not."

I couldn't really disagree with her on that one. She isn't known as the strictest teacher in the school for nothing. I guess that's how she treats all adults, which is what she considered all of her students.

"Jamie, don't take this the wrong way, but I really think you should be hanging out with your friends during your free periods. Not me," she said in a gentle tone.

"I choose to do this though."

"Yes, and I understand that. But you're only a teenager once. Go hang out with your friends, go do stupid things. Have fun."

Ms. Chase was basically telling me to stop hanging out with her so much and get a life. I could understand where she's coming from. She doesn't really like people all that much, and talking to people in excess means liking them which leads to trust. And she obviously doesn't want that. I just looked at her and then at the photograph when she was younger again.

With that, I picked up my things and walked out of the quiet classroom.

* * *

><p>We were in May now and classes were winding down on their curriculum's and starting to prepare for final exams. Ms. Chase was no different. She had started to wear her famous dresses and heels again due to the warm weather permitting her to do so. Since our awkward farewell she seemed the same. I still got detentions with her, but it was never just me. People from her calculus and pre calc classes were always piled in along with me. She'd just order us to do homework she assigned us that day while she graded things and made lessons for the week.<p>

I was always distracted though. Ever since she showed me that picture of her and Percy, I'd been thinking about it. He made her so freaking happy, and then he just leaves her and she turns back to her stone hard personality she mentioned she had. I felt bad for her. Having two children that were his with no moral support must've been a hard blow on her. I couldn't even bear to imagine how she answered her girls questions when they ask where their dad is. The worst part is, it seems like she's been through this sort of abandonment before and she just accepted it.

I don't know why I always think about it. Maybe it's because I feel bad for her, and I don't want to see her slowly suffer in silence. If I were in her situation, I would crack immediately under the pressure. I give her props for being able to raise two little girls on her own like that.

Ms. Chase looked up from her paperwork and looked at the time on the clock. She then dismissed us all and wished us a nice day. Everyone got their things packed up and started to trickle out the door. I walked over to her.

"Hi, Ms. Chase," I greeted.

"Hello, Jamie. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you would write my college recommendation for me?"

She seemed surprised as if it was the first time anyone considered her for it. After a moment she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Of course I will Jamie. Just give me a resume and transcript."

"Thank you Ms. Chase."

"You're quite welcome."

With a smile I walked out of the class and down to the main lobby. I had to go through the main office to get out of the school when I bumped into somebody and fell to the ground.

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry ma'am," a deep voice said.

He offered a tan hand to me and I took it heaving myself off the ground and dusting the dirt and dust off my jeans.

"It's not a problem sir," I replied. When I looked up I saw a man who had a thin black beard and he seemed to be smiling at me showing the crinkles around his eyes. But what really got me were the green eyes he possessed. It was literally the same color as the guy in Ms. Chase's photograph. I must've been staring at him for a while because he started to scratch the back of his neck.

"Are you looking for Ms. Chase?" I finally asked.

His green eyes widened and so did his smile. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I'm one of her students."

He clapped both of his hands together. "Oh! Perfect. Can you do something for me?"

Looking at him, I felt the sudden need to tell him off and slap him. He's the reason Ms. Chase is so sad and bitter all the freaking time. He left her for six freaking years with two little girls to raise that he didn't know existed! I looked at him skeptically.

"Why should I?" I asked in a bitter tone. He seemed to pick up on it right away.

"Uh, because I wanted to surprise her on her last day of classes. Getting a hold of one of her students is perfect. I talked to the Principal, which is why I'm really here I guess. And he's down for the plan I have set in motion. Do you think you can tell fellow classmates about the plan without spilling the secrets? For all of her classes maybe?" He seemed to be pleading with those really nice sea-green eyes.

I pursed my lips together still trying to decide whether or not I should help him. I figured that if it would make Ms. Chase happy, then yeah I'd do it.

"Fine. Only because it'll finally make her happy for once," I grumbled.

His smile seemed to falter for a second before coming back again.

"Awesome! Let me tell you quickly so I can get out of here before she does."

Once he explained it, and I got the basic idea of what was going to happen I was about to leave before I turned around.

"How long have you been back?" I asked.

He seemed to think about it for a second. "A few days. I went on a manhunt searching for her seeing as she doesn't live in New York anymore. I thought maybe she'd gone to San Francisco with her family. But I guess she went back to her roots in Richmond."

"And you didn't call her at all? You do know she tried to call you thousands of times but couldn't."

"She did?" He questioned innocently.

"Yeah. She pretty much thinks you're dead."

He seemed to be confused by that statement. His eyebrows scrunched up.

"Why? It's only been a year; like I promised her."

I raised my eyebrows and let my mouth hang open for a few seconds to look at him like he's crazy.

"Are you insane? It's been six years man."

With that I left the school to walk back home leaving Ms. Chase's long lost boyfriend confused in the main office.

* * *

><p>Since the last day of classes were Friday, I let everyone in on the secret throughout the week. Maria, the friend I mentioned earlier who had Ms. Chase for Calculus, spread the word to her calc classes and we all managed to stay silent. Last day of classes meant that we had a half day anyway.<p>

I was waiting in Spanish for the bell to ring soon because five minutes before Mr. O'Shea, the principal was going to call Ms. Chase to the his office to get everything set up. And so far, Ms. Chase seemed oblivious to the plan that surrounded her. Mr. O'Shea also contacted the elementary school that her daughters went to and brought them over to the high school so they could be part of the surprise.

"Ms. Chase, can you please come to Mr. O'Shea's office please," the secretary said over the PA.

Almost everyone in the student body knew about the surprise and would be gathering in the front lawn to watch it go down. We all looked at each other smiling and getting more antsy in our seats. Five minutes later, the final bell of the year rung and everyone was running out of their seats to the front lawn.

As I made my way past the front office, I saw holding each of her daughter's hands and looking mildly confused and suspicious at the same time. She had a halter top dress on that was navy blue and some white heels. Her hair was up in her classic high ponytail with a navy blue headband over. As usual, she looked gorgeous and like a vintage model. I stifled a laugh watching her confused face as she tried to figure out what exactly was happening.

Outside, everyone was already assembling and I managed to push my way to the front of the crowd. After five minutes, Mr. O'Shea finally came out and addressed us all with a huge smile.

"And now give a warm welcome to Ms. Chase!" he announced.

She walked out with her twin daughters in hand and she seemed even more confused as she saw the whole entire student body outside watching her. I saw her mouth "what's happening right now?" Mr. O'Shea just patted her on the back and gave her a warm smile that seemed to unsettle her even more.

"Ms. Chase we have a surprise for you and your daughters," he announced.

She just looked at all of us with our smiling faces and she looked a little nervous and looked down at her daughters who seemed to have no idea what was happening at all. All of a sudden down the middle, the group of students parted like the Red Sea revealing Percy.

Ms. Chase's gray eyes widened almost instantly and her jaw seemed to unhinge itself. She looked like she was about to faint on the spot. The only thing that kept her standing up straight were her daughters. She blinked a couple of times to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating.

Percy came up to her and she recoiled a little bit at the proximity of him. Her face was flushed with nervousness and adrenaline. I was close enough to see that her eyes were watering.

"Oh my gods," she whispered.

Ms. Chase let go of Indira's hand and went to touch his face just to make sure he was real. And when she did touch him, she punched him across the face. He didn't go down but when he turned to look back at Ms. Chase he was laughing at her.

Everyone gasped in shock and was silent as the reunion occurred.

"Well, at least you didn't judo flip me this time," he said.

She let go of Sandra's hand to cross her arms and glare at him with those stone eyes.

"Do you want me to do it? Because I'll gladly do it again," she growled.

He just shrugged. "Eh, I think once is enough for me. Listen, I'm so, so sorry for leaving you." He then went to hug her, and Ms. Chase stiffened before awkwardly hugging him back.

He whispered something in her ear, and she nodded in response. Then he kissed her straight on the lips and everyone in the crowd erupted into cheers. After they broke apart, Ms. Chase seemed to smile for the first real time in a long time. Suddenly, he dropped to one knee and took out a velvet box. Ms. Chase had hands over her mouth and she was trying to stop herself from crying.

Before he could even take out the ring, she screamed "Yes! I'll marry you, you seaweed brain." He put on the biggest smile I've ever seen on a man and they kissed once more.

Percy seemed to see the twin girls for the first time and looked at Ms. Chase with confusion.

"Who're they?"

Ms. Chase smiled down at her little girls and then back to Percy.

"They're you daughters Percy. That's Indira and Sandra," she introduced.

The two young blondes seemed shocked that they were finally meeting their father for the first time. Then at the same time, they yelled "DADDY!" and jumped right onto Percy who laughed.

"I have daughters?" he asked jovially.

Ms. Chase nodded. "But they have my last name since, you know…"

Percy shook his head. "That is perfectly fine by me."

For the first time, Ms. Chase had a whole family to hug and it was one of the most inspiring moments of my life.

* * *

><p>While everyone started to leave the school property, I stayed behind to watch Ms. Chase and Percy interact more. She was asking questions rapidly to him and he answered every single one of them. I felt kind of bad for watching them, but I couldn't hear them so it wasn't really eavesdropping. The girls were off playing tag within eyes distance. Percy looked over and spotted me. He waved me over and Ms. Chase saw me too.<p>

"Hey, Beth this is the student that helped me set it all up," Percy said.

He called her Beth. Was that her name?

"Jamie helped you? I should've known then," she said jokingly.

I just shrugged and held a smirk. Ms. Chase just shook her head at me.

"She's just like you Percy. Always in detention with me this one. Rebellious streak is strong in her."

Percy just nodded in approval. "I like you Jamie." Him saying that felt nice.

I turned to Ms. Chase. "So you're name is Beth? I've been trying to figure out your name all year."

Ms. Chase just rolled her eyes. "No. Beth is just a stupid nickname he calls me to annoy me. It's Annabeth."

Annabeth. That name just seemed to be perfect for her. Percy and Annabeth. It was like those two names were meant to be together. I felt like finding out Ms. Chase's name was the biggest achievement of this year. Because her telling my name means that she's finally trusting people again. And she told me. _Me! _

Ms. Chase is and will always be one of the best figures in my life. Seeing the happy family of four together is what made my junior year of high school one of the most memorable years of my life.

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it folks! <strong>


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